IBC's solve sticky situation

Prepared Foods, April, 1997 by Steve Berne

With more than a 100-year history, Miller's Honey, Colton, Calif., is a major processor of honey in the Riverside-San Bernadino region of Southern California. As demand grew, as well as competition and environmental awareness, the company was faced with a challenge. It needed an economical, reusable and convenient bulk packaging solution to store and transport their product to customers. Miller's ships more than two-thirds of its honey in bulk to manufacturers of other products.

Miller's first two packaging attempts resulted in total operational inefficiency. "We began using reconditioned 55-gallon drums," says Merrill Paxman, vice president of sales. "However, the problems were numerous. Drums were costly, unsafe to handle - weighing 650 lbs. when full - and the inner coating on each drum decayed if they were mishandled or dented."

Drums were generally unusable after only two or three uses, according to Paxman. "We then had the additional problem of disposal. Landfill costs are tremendous and scrap metal dealers required the drums to be cleaned and cut up into small pieces. This was not a viable solution."

Miller's also experimented with a plastic bag in a corrugated container. The package did hold the equivalent of five drums of honey, but there were equally as many problems. "Not only did our customers only get one use out of each bag, at a cost twice that of one 55-gallon drum, but not all the honey could be extracted," notes Paxman. "We had to issue credits for the remaining quantity. Additionally, each corrugated box would cost up to $100 and could be used only three to four times before disintegrating."

IBC Solution

In its quest for a solution, Miller's turned to Bulkdrum III, an intermediate bulk container (IBC), manufactured by Hoover Materials Handling Group. The IBC combines a UV-stabilized polyethylene inner bottle with a protective outer cage. "We get at least 20 uses of each bulkdrum system," adds Paxman. "The durability of the bottle and heavy-gauge galvanized steel rods of the cage add tremendous economies to the units' life cycle."

Each bottle has a six-inch screw-on cap for fast and easy filling and subsequent cleaning. "We can easily steam clean the bottle's interior, leaving the valve open for draining. Also, we pick up the empty units when we deliver full ones to a customer. This reduces our customers' risk of injury and eliminates disposal costs for both companies." The attached, four-way entry, tubular steel pallet is sanitary and adds a measure of flexibility for Miller's and its customers.

A specially designed, built-in ball valve remains easy to use even when the naturally thick honey becomes even more dense in the cold winter months. "The Bulkdrum IIIs address every economic and environmental factor affecting production, transportation and disposal for our customers and ourselves," concludes Paxman.